For Children, Book I, No. 2 (Children’s Song)

Béla Bartók · Level 2 (Beginner) · 20th century · Piano

A Hungarian folk song with a modal colour: the melody passes from one hand to the other above a very simple accompaniment. From For Children (1908–1909), eighty-five little pieces by Bartók on Hungarian and Slovak folk songs, written for beginners. A minor, 2/4, 54 bars (about one minute), complete score.

▶ Play this piece with the interactive score

How to practise it

• Listen first: the site plays it while the score scrolls.
• Wait mode: the score waits for you at every note, at your own pace.
• Tempo challenge: play in time, with a score and a map of the bars you got right.
• Notice which hand has the melody in each phrase and let it sing a little louder than the other. For chords, shape the hand in the air before landing, all notes together. Start hands separately in Wait mode, then put hands together at a slow tempo before speeding up gradually.

More pieces by Béla Bartók

• Romanian Folk Dance No. 2 “Brâul”
• For Children, Book I, No. 1 (Children at Play)

Source : PDMX / MuseScore · CC0 1.0